Throughout history, many expeditions have come to India, or landed up in America, looking for the spices from its Malabar Coast. It is said King Solomon sent Phoenician sailors to India to purchase spices. A very important part of the trade route, The Malabar coast was the destination for Chinese, Greek, Roman traders in silk and spice. Cinnamon, cloves, ginger, peppers were as prized as precious stones. And after the arrival of Vasco da Gama in 1498, the Portuguese controlled the enormously lucrative spice trade to Europe instead of the Arabs.

To understand the importance of spices in the world, take a look at this figure: India produces about 2.5 million tonnes of spices every year and exports about 200,000 tonnes including value added products. The world import of spices is estimated at 450,000 tonnes and India's share is about 44 percent!

 

Down the ages the three functions of spices in Indian cooking - medicinal, preservative, and seasoning - got separated. Until recently, taste was the criteria for using a specific spice or herb. As more and more master chefs and gourmets research the origin of Indian cuisine to seasons, festivals and regions of India, there is a better understanding of the role spices play in our well-being.

 

Grand mother was always right: You are what you eat.

We Indians have always known that, which is why herbs and spices, found in every home, are incorporated into our foods and beverages for better health. Not only does the food look, smell and taste delicious, it heals, soothes and rejuvenates the body.

 

 Ayurveda,

The indigenous system of Indian medicine, uses a large number of spices in its combination of preventive and curative medicines. The proponents of Ayurveda, understood the importance of preventing diseases and used key spices to achieve this objective.

 

Ancient Ayurvedic treatise lists numerous spices for their medicinal properties. Pepper was used to cure digestive ailments. A turmeric paste was applied to burns, itchy skin etc. Ginger was the tried and tested remedy for liver complaints, anaemia and rheumatism. If you suffered from nausea, fever, headaches, or eye diseases, you'd be sure to get a dose of cardamom. Coriander was meted out for insomnia, cloves for spleen, kidney, and intestinal disorders.

 

Indian Spices, Herbs & Seasoning

No two people in the country will agree on the exact recipe of a favourite dish. Recipes are handed down from generation to generation, verbally in the kitchen and are closely guarded secrets in most cases. But all agree, a dish is well cooked when the spices blend into the gravy and the meat. The spices should not be have disparate flavours, or taste raw. No one spice should over-power the other and be so intrusive as to completely hide the true taste of the vegetable or meat being cooked. It should help maintain and enhance the character of the dish, give it colour and fragrance and leave you wanting more.

 

Masalas are spices and other seasoning ground together to form the basis for Indian sauces. Wet masala is ground in a stone mortar; liquids like water or vinegar are added during the grinding process to create a harmonious blend. Sometimes nuts, coconut, onion or garlic can also be added. In the South freshly ground Masalas are preferred to make the gravies that go with the staple, rice. In the north, which has a longer winter when fresh spices are not easy to get hold of, dried, powdered spices are commonly used to flavour the gravy-less dishes preferred with rotis that are the staple. There are no hard and fast rules for the use of spices in particular recipes, but there are basic guidelines based on commonsense. Turmeric, coriander, cumin, pepper have too strong and bitter a taste to be good additions to desserts. However saffron, cardamoms, cinnamon that are used to make garam masala are freely used in sweets. That's because most of the halwas etc that call for their use are winter favourites and a little heat is welcome in the cold northern winter.

 

There is another type of masala westerners might be unfamiliar with and that that is the chaunk or tadka. Whole dried spices like kashmiri chillies, cumin and coriander seeds, karipatta etc are added one by one to hot oil until they begin to sputter or pop. This tempering is then poured over dals and raitas. That's the extra zing that makes Indian food so popular the world over.

 

Here I am discussing one spice with wonderful properties

 

NUTMEG

Nutmeg relaxes the muscles, sedates the body, and helps remove gas from the digestive track. It is most commonly used for stomach problems such as indigestion. It is also used for chronic nervous disorders, kidney disorders, and to prevent nausea and vomiting. In Chinese medicine, nutmeg is used to treat abdominal pain, diarrhea, inflammation, impotence, liver disease, and vomiting. In the Middle East, some cultures are said to use nutmeg in love potions as an aphrodisiac. The essential oil of nutmeg is used for rheumatic pain, toothaches, and bad breath.

 

Toxicity and medical properties of nutmeg

In low doses, nutmeg produces no noticeable physiological or neurological response. Large doses of 60 g or more are dangerous, potentially inducing convulsions, palpitations, nausea, eventual dehydration, and generalized body pain. In amounts of 10-40 g it is marijuana-like psychedelic, producing slight visual distortions and a mild euphoria.

 

Nutmeg contains myristicin, a weak monoamine oxidase inhibitor.

When ingested in large amounts, nutmeg takes on a similar chemical make-up to MDMA or popularly known as ecstasy.  However, use of nutmeg as a recreational drug is unpopular due to its unpleasant taste and weaker effects. A user will not experience a peak until approximately six hours after ingestion, and effects can linger for up to 24 hours afterwards.

 

Fatalities may occur with lower doses with children.

 

Culinary application of nutmeg

Nutmeg is used in cusine throughout the world and is used in Indian cusine as well

 It’s a part of lot of masala (mix of spices

 And used in marination of meats. It’s also said to tenderize meats.

 

In European and western cuisine nutmeg is usually associated with sweet, spicy dishes — pies, puddings, custards, cookies and spice cakes. It combines well with many cheeses, and is included in soufflés and cheese sauces. In soups it works with tomatoes, slit pea, chicken or black beans. It complements egg dishes and vegetables like cabbage, spinach, broccoli, beans onions and eggplant. It flavours Italian mortadella sausages, Scottish haggis and Middle Eastern lamb dishes. It is a part of the Moroccan spice blend ras el hanout. It is indispensable to eggnog and numerous mulled wines and punches.

 

This is one of my favorite recipes and is simple to make & gives wonderful results.

 

 DUM KI CHAAP

(Tender lamb chops tenderized with nutmeg and flavored with aromatic spices and cooked in its own juices)

 

Ingredients:

8 no.  lamb chops

15 gm ginger-garlic paste

2 gm garam masala

2 gm nutmeg powder grated

2 gm cardamom mace powder

2.5gm red chilli powder

30 gm roasted almond paste

20 gm poppy seed paste

30 gm fried onion paste

30 gm brown garlic paste

Salt to taste

20gm melted ghee

3gm saffron water

 

Procedure:

Combine the papaya paste, ginger garlic paste, garam masala, cardamom mace powder, red chilli powder, almond paste, poppy seed paste, fried onion paste, brown garlic paste and salt. Mix this paste well and marinate the lamb chops well. Allow the lamb to marinate for 2 hours.

More flavour will be infused in meat if marinated for more time

 

In a shallow and heavy bottom pan, place the lamb chops and pour the melted ghee over the chops and bake in a preheated oven at 170°c and cook for around 20 minutes or till tender.

You can also cook the chops on a slow flame and cover the pan with a lid for around

Sprinkle the saffron water on the chops and serve hot with sliced onions and fresh green chilies.